Germany · E-Rechnung · XRechnung · ZUGFeRD
Since 1 January 2025, every business established in Germany must be able to receive an E-Rechnung; from 1 January 2028, all of them will have to issue one. PDF Mirror reads the XRechnung and ZUGFeRD invoices you receive for free, and issues them in the Pro edition — no subscription, no platform, and your invoices never pass through our servers.
What the law says
The obligation covers invoices between businesses established in Germany. It comes in two stages: first being able to receive, then having to issue.
| Date | Who | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Since 1 January 2025 | Every business established in Germany | It must be able to receive an E-Rechnung. An e-mail inbox is enough. |
| Until 31 December 2026 | All businesses | A paper invoice is still accepted, or a plain PDF if the customer agrees. |
| Until 31 December 2027 | Previous-year turnover up to €800,000 | The same leeway, one year longer. EDI exchange that does not follow the European standard also remains allowed for everyone until that date. |
| From 1 January 2028 | All businesses | Every invoice between businesses established in Germany is an E-Rechnung. |
An E-Rechnung is not a PDF sent by e-mail: it is an invoice whose data are structured according to the European standard EN 16931. The two formats in common use in Germany qualify: XRechnung, an XML file on its own, and ZUGFeRD from version 2.0.1, a PDF that carries its XML — except the MINIMUM and BASIC-WL profiles, too thin to count as an invoice. In a ZUGFeRD, the XML is what is legally binding, and it is the XML that must be kept intact.
Outside the obligation to issue: invoices of €250 gross or less, travel tickets, and small businesses under the VAT exemption scheme (Kleinunternehmer). Receiving, on the other hand, concerns everyone.
Summary based on the FAQ of the German Federal Ministry of Finance, updated after the circular of 15 October 2025. This is not tax advice: your adviser remains the right person for your case.
Receiving — free
An XRechnung arrives as an XML file with no pages at all: opened in a browser, it is a wall of tags. Yet it has to be read, checked and paid.
1 — Open
Drag the XRechnung into PDF Mirror: it opens straight into a readable view — supplier, customer, lines, VAT, totals, payment terms. The raw XML stays alongside, for anyone who wants to check a tag.
2 — See what is legally binding
A ZUGFeRD displays like any other PDF, and its embedded XML opens in a separate tab, raw and in a readable view. That XML is what counts for the tax authorities: you see it, instead of assuming it.
3 — Check
PDF Mirror applies the rules of the EN 16931 standard and, for an XRechnung, the German BR-DE rules. A wrong total, a malformed VAT number, a ZUGFeRD MINIMUM that does not count as an invoice: it is spelled out, with the rule code, before the invoice goes to accounting.
Issuing — Pro edition
You already make your invoices — in Word, in a spreadsheet, in an old program. PDF Mirror does not ask you to change that: it turns the PDF you produce into an electronic invoice.
The PDF invoice is read and its fields are filled in: number, dates, customer, lines, VAT rates, totals. A scanned invoice goes through text recognition first. Your issuer details are entered once. The check highlights in colour whatever is missing or does not add up, and the correction is made in the form, not in the XML.
For German public authorities, XRechnung requires the buyer's Leitweg-ID and a complete contact at the seller: without them the invoice is rejected, and PDF Mirror tells you before it is sent.
| Format | For whom | PDF Mirror |
|---|---|---|
ZUGFeRD / Factur-X EN 16931 | Private-sector customers: a PDF anyone can read, with its XML | Reads, checks, issues |
ZUGFeRD BASIC, EXTENDED | Same use, shorter or richer content | Reads, checks, issues |
ZUGFeRD MINIMUM, BASIC-WL | Not valid invoices in Germany | Reads it, and flags it |
XRechnung 3.0 (CII or UBL) | Public authorities, and customers who require it | Reads, checks against the BR-DE rules, issues |
Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 | The European Peppol network | Reads, checks, issues |
PDF Mirror produces the file; it does not deliver it. You send it by e-mail, which the law allows, or upload it to your customer's portal. The Peppol network additionally requires an access point.
Luxembourg, France, Belgium
The German obligation covers invoices between businesses established in Germany. A business established abroad, with no establishment in Germany, may state this on its invoice to explain why it is not an E-Rechnung. But your German customers now receive them every day, and their accounts departments process them faster than a PDF: sending them a ZUGFeRD means getting paid without re-keying.
The same module also speaks Factur-X, one of the formats of the French reform, and Peppol BIS, the format of the European network. One invoice, three destinations: the content is the same, only the mould changes.
What it costs
The free edition of PDF Mirror reads, displays and checks every electronic invoice you receive. The Pro edition, €69 excl. VAT as a perpetual licence, issues them — no subscription, no per-invoice fee, no account to create on a platform.
The Pro edition is the complete PDF editor: edit text and images, run OCR, convert, sign with a smart card, protect, compare. E-invoicing is included; you are not buying yet another tool.
Your invoices go to no server. PDF Mirror works on your computer: neither AMS Studio nor anyone else sees what you invoice, or to whom.
FAQ
No. As far as the law is concerned, an e-mail inbox is enough to receive them. To read and check an XRechnung, the free edition of PDF Mirror is enough too.
No. A plain PDF is an “other” electronic invoice, accepted only during the transition period. An E-Rechnung carries data structured according to EN 16931: XRechnung, or ZUGFeRD from version 2.0.1, except the MINIMUM and BASIC-WL profiles.
For a private-sector customer, ZUGFeRD with the EN 16931 profile: it is a PDF anyone can read, and the XML is inside. XRechnung for public authorities, with the Leitweg-ID, or when the customer asks for it.
No, and that is not its job: it does not number your invoices or keep customer accounts. It turns the invoice you already produce into a compliant electronic invoice, and it reads the ones you receive.
It applies the rules of the EN 16931 standard and the German BR-DE rules, with the code of each one. It replaces neither your tax adviser's opinion nor, for a public authority, its own acceptance check.
No. PDF Mirror works on your computer. No invoice, received or issued, is sent to AMS Studio or anyone else.